Import students from CSV or Excel

Add or update students from a CSV or Excel file, choose whether to remove missing students, and check the import preview.

If your school keeps a student register in another system or spreadsheet, you can import a CSV or Excel file instead of entering every student individually. The imported students join your school’s shared list, ready to use in carnivals.

This guide covers importing a student register and updating an existing roster. If you already have students, see Import when you already have students for an example of the changes shown in the preview. Before you start, prepare your file and check its grades and houses against your school settings.

Import a student register

1. From the Dashboard, expand Settings and open Students. This page contains the organisation-wide student list used by every carnival.

2. Open the menu beside Add Student and choose Import Students.

3. Under CSV or Excel file, choose your student register and click Upload. Files can be up to 10 MB. For Excel, Houseplay reads the first sheet, uses row 1 as headings and skips blank rows.

4. Houseplay suggests columns from their headings and known school values. Check every Suggested match before continuing. First name, last name, gender, grade, and house are required. If your school assigns student IDs, map Student ID so future imports can match each student by the same ID. Map Date of Birth and Notes if your file contains them.

5. Choose whether to enable Delete students not present in the import file. With it off, the import adds or updates students from the file and keeps existing students who are absent from the file. Use this for a partial list, such as one year level or a few corrected students.

   With it on, existing students who are absent from the file are proposed for deletion. Use it only when the file contains your complete school register, then review the Delete rows in the preview before importing. With an empty student list, there is nobody to delete. This example leaves the checkbox off. Click Save Import Settings.

6. Review the preview before saving. The summary at the top shows how many rows are New and whether any contain an Error. If your student list is empty, each valid student should be New. Compare the counts with your file, then check a few rows to confirm names, dates, genders, grades, and houses have been interpreted correctly. Resolve any errors before importing: use Change Mapping to correct a paired column without losing other choices, or Re-upload after fixing the file. Check How dates were read above the preview; if day-first was assumed, inspect a few displayed dates before importing.

7. Click Import to save the students. When the Students page returns, use the success message to confirm how many records were created, updated, restored or deleted, and whether any failed. Compare these counts with the preview you reviewed. Check that student IDs and names from your file now appear in the list.

You can now create your carnival and decide whether to register every student or add selected students to individual events.

If a preview row is marked Error, use A student row failed to import to diagnose it before confirming the import.

Import when you already have students

Use the same upload, mapping and preview steps to update an existing roster. Houseplay first matches by Student ID, then tries first and last name if no ID match is found. Keep each student’s school ID consistent, including when their name changes.

An unmapped optional field keeps its existing value. A blank cell in a mapped optional field clears that value, so check your mapping and blanks before updating students.

1. Upload your student register and check the suggested columns as in the above steps. Make sure Student ID points to the same IDs used in your existing roster; this enables students to be correctly matched.

2. This file is the complete school register, so enable Delete students not present in the import file to remove students who have left. If you are uploading only a partial update, leave it off. Click Save Import Settings to see the proposed changes.

3. Review the proposed changes. New adds a student, Update applies the row to an existing student, and Restore brings back a previously deleted student. Delete removes an existing student absent from the file when the checkbox is on. Kept means a proposed deletion is blocked; read the row’s details to see why. Error means that row cannot be saved.

   If the counts or rows are unexpected, use Change Mapping or Re-upload before confirming. For example, an unexpected New row for a returning student may mean their ID or name did not match.

4. Click Import once the preview matches your intended changes. On the Students listing page, compare the success message with those counts.